Meryl Streep encourages Christie to sign bill banning sale of ivory

One of Hollywood's brightest stars is joining New Jersey's fight against ivory trafficking.

On Tuesday, actress Meryl Streep voiced her support for a bill aimed at combating ivory trafficking in the Garden State and urged Gov. Chris Christie to sign it into law.

"As a New Jersey native I was delighted to learn from my friends at The Humane Society of the United States that our state could be the first in the country to enact a ban on the importation and sale of ivory — a product of horrific cruelty to elephants and rhinos, who could very well become extinct within decades if we don't act now," Streep said in a statement.

"Governor, you have my full support and I hope you usher this critical bill through without delay," added Streep, a three-time Oscar-winning actress.Co-sponsored by Jersey City Assemblyman Raj Mukherji and state Sen. Raymond Lesniak, the bill prohibits anyone from selling, offering for sale, purchasing, importing, bartering or possessing with intent to sell any ivory, ivory product, rhinoceros horn or rhinoceros horn product.

In addition to the impact it can have on wildlife, Mukherji said the bill strengthens the country in its fight against terrorist organizations.

"It's great to have (Streep's) support. Although she's a great actress, I'm a little tired of seeing her win Oscar after Oscar. Let's spread the wealth a little bit," Mukherji joked. "But I can never get tired of a celebrity lending her voice to the chorus of support for a measure that cuts directly into the poaching profits, which funds the operations of terrorist organizations like Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Shabaab, the Lord's Resistance Army and Janjaweed."

Mukherji, a former Marine, added that Al-Shabaab generates approximately $600,000 per month from the ivory trade.

"With New Jersey ports serving as a hub for illegal wildlife trafficking and our proximity to New York City, the largest ivory buyer in the country, we needed to act now."

Species with ivory teeth or tusks — like rhinoceroses, elephants and walruses — have become increasingly threatened by the ivory trade. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 35,000 African elephants were slaughtered in 2013.

Meanwhile, the conservation group Save the Rhino International says the total population of rhinoceroses living in the wild has plummeted to a mere 29,000 worldwide.

"The most effective way to discourage illegal trafficking is to eliminate markets and profits for the traffickers," said Mukherji, a former deputy mayor of Jersey City.

The Assembly passed the bill 75-2-1 on Monday, and the Senate approved the measure on Thursday.

Regarded as one of the film industry's best actresses, Streep was born in Summit and raised in Bernardsville.